NCAA Conference Tournament Preview VII ( Big East Atlantic 10)

Big East

Team to beat: Georgetown — A ineffective and boring start to the season caused many to wonder about the boys from our nations capital, but John Thompson III got them to finish strong and wound up with the No. 1 seed thanks to the play of Jeff Green, Roy Hibbert and improved guard play from Jonathan Wallace and Jessie Sapp.
Sleeper: Marquette — Calling the Eagles a sleeper is a bit of a stretch since they are ranked, but they are the 6th seed. They have the best guards and since guards rule in March... (have I said that already)???
Prediction: Louisville. — Call me crazy. Call me stupid. Call me a geek. They are playing as well as ANYONE right now so why not. They are athletic, long and lean. If they hit on the perimeter, they can beat anyone... anynight.

Tournament Schedule
at New York, N.Y. (Madison Square Garden) All times EST
Wednesday, March 7 — First round
Game 1: No. 8 DePaul vs. No. 9 Villanova, noon
Game 2: No. 5 Syracuse vs. No. 12 Connecticut, 2 p.m.
Game 3: No. 7 West Virginia vs. No. 10 Providence, 7 p.m.
Game 4: No. 6 Marquette vs. No. 11 St. John's, 9 p.m.

Thursday, March 8 — Quarterfinals
Game 5: No. 1 Georgetown vs. Game 1 winner, noon
Game 6: No. 4 Notre Dame vs. Game 2 winner, 2 p.m.
Game 7: No. 2 Louisville vs. Game 3 winner, 7 p.m.
Game 8: No. 3 Pittsburgh vs. Game 4 winner, 9 p.m.

Friday, March 9 — Semifinals
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 7 p.m.
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 9 p.m.

Saturday, March 10 — Championship
Game 11: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 9 p.m.

Geek's all-conference picks
Player of the Year: Jeff Green, 6-9, 235, F, Jr., Georgetown
Rookie of the Year: Scottie Reynolds, 6-2, 195, G, Fr., Villanova
Coach of the Year: Mike Brey, Notre Dame

All-Big East team
Jeff Green, 6-9, 235, F, Jr., Georgetown — 13.6 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 3.5 apg, 1.2 bpg
Aaron Gray, 7-0, 270, C, Sr., Pittsburgh — 14.4 ppg, 10.1 rpg, 1.7 bpg
Demetris Nichols, 6-8, 210, F, Sr., Syracuse — 18.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg
Herbert Hill, 6-10, 240, C, Sr., Providence — 18 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 3 bpg
Dominic James, 5-11, 175, G, Soph., Marquette — 14.9 ppg, 4.9 apg, 3 rpg, 1.9 spg

Atlantic 10.

Team to beat: Xavier — The Musketeers played awful at the beginning of the year, but came on strong in February and may be one of the best teams in February. They have experience and seem to have gotten used to playing with transfer point guard Drew Lavender (Xavier would like to thank Oklahoma and Kelvin Sampson for leaving).
Sleeper: Duquesne — After the horrendous personal anguish to start this season who would have thought that Ron Everhart would have the Dukes playing well toward the middle of the season. Can they keep it going? You never know what adversity and passion can do.
Prediction: Xavier — Depth, balance and experience. These guys have been playing together for a while and should be able to get past UMass for the title. Although all of us in the "media" would love to see one more Xavier-UMass game...

Tournament Schedule
at Atlantic City, N.J. (Boardwalk Hall) All times EST
Wednesday, March 7 — First round
Game 1: No. 8 Dayton vs. No. 9 Charlotte, noon
Game 2: No. 5 Fordham vs. No. 12 Richmond, 2:30 p.m.
Game 3: No. 7 Saint Louis vs. No. 10 Duquesne, 6:30 p.m.
Game 4: No. 6 Saint Joseph's vs. No. 11 Temple, 9 p.m.

Thursday, March 8 — Quarterfinals
Game 5: No. 1 Xavier vs. Game 1 winner, noon
Game 6: No. 4 Rhode Island vs. Game 2 winner, 2:30 p.m.
Game 7: No. 2 Massachusetts vs. Game 3 winner, 6:30 p.m. Game 8:
No. 3 George Washington vs. Game 4 winner, 9 p.m.

Friday, March 9 — Semifinals
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 6:30 p.m.
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 9 p.m.

Saturday, March 10 — Championship
Game 11: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 6:05 p.m.

Geeks's all-conference picks
Player of the Year: Stephane Lasme, 6-8, F, Sr., UMass
Rookie of the Year: Robert Mitchell, 6-6, F, Fr., Duquesne
Coach of the Year: Sean Miller, Xavier

All-Atlantic 10 team
Stephane Lasme, 6-8, F, Sr., UMass — 13.5 ppg, 9.4 rpg
Rashaun Freeman, 6-9, C, Sr., UMass — 19.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg
Will Daniels, 6-8, F, Jr., Rhode Island — 17.2 ppg, 5.7 rpg
Justin Doellman, 6-9, F, Sr., Xavier — 13.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg
Ahmad Nivins, 6-9, F, Soph., Saint Joseph's — 16.6 ppg, 7.5 rpg